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The Government should embrace the offshore potential exhibited by small economies such as Singapore

Proverbs 29:18 in the King James Bible states, “where there is no vision the people perish”. In a contemporary context the verse makes me think “where there is no vision Brexit perishes”. The Prime Minister’s Florence and conference speeches weren’t about the “vision thing” – a vision of Britain’s place in the world, a new, outward-looking, dynamic economy, eager to exploit post-EU freedoms to become the ultimate offshore economy, very free, very big and very wealthy.

But that’s the vision that needs to be sold. Instead of being iffy about abandoning the EU regulatory state, the Prime Minister and Chancellor should embrace the offshore potential exhibited by small economies such as Singapore and Hong Kong. Per capita nominal GDP (in US dollars) in Singapore is 33pc higher than in the UK. We should abandon the EU regulatory state and embrace economic freedom with alacrity.

Turning away from interventionism and towards economic freedom is much more than abandoning statism at home. It is also about abandoning protectionism abroad. It is about the destruction of the protectionist fortress that is the EU Common External Tariff, and its replacement with classical free trade and zero-tariff and non-tariff barriers on imports from every country in the world.

This is the true Holy Grail of Brexit: zero-tariff and non-tariff barriers on imports from everywhere. Unfortunately, HM Treasury see the Holy Grail as precisely the opposite – zero-tariff and non-tariff barriers on our exports to the EU.

If the Prime Minister is to project a vision of opportunity post Brexit, she needs to abandon the Treasury world view with alacrity as well. Wedded to its gravity model and ridiculous projections of what Brexit would do to the economy in the short and long term, HM Treasury has boxed itself into a corner and can’t get out. Unfortunately it means the post-Brexit vision is boxed into a corner as well. The electorate is desperate for a positive vision of Brexit. It has voted to leave the EU and now wants its political leaders to promise the world and deliver it. Somebody needs to brief the Prime Minister on the remarkable opportunity that has landed on her doorstep, which she seems unaware of.

First is the historic opportunity to implement classical free trade. The Prime Minister has the opportunity to go down in history as the First Lord of the Treasury who delivered the Holy Grail. In his biography of Sir Robert Peel, the Prime Minister who led the 19th century abolition of the Corn Laws, Douglas Hurd states: “He did not invent the doctrine of free trade. But Sir Robert was in undisputed charge of the crucial country at the crucial moment.”

Second is the political opportunity. The Treasury perspective on Brexit is producer driven, whereas classical free trade is driven by the consumer and the gains they will receive from trading at lower world prices – a difference that could be 10pc to 20pc. The gain to consumers from classical free trade is huge. The Prime Minister has an unprecedented opportunity to be on the side of the little guy and show why free market competition is good for everyone. Classical free trade will lower prices and boost the spending power of consumers in the short term and raise long-term productivity and incomes.

Third, classical free trade provides a deliverable opportunity. If the Government promises it they can deliver it. It’s a decision entirely within the control of the Government. It doesn’t have to be negotiated with the EU, all it requires is lodging a tariff schedule full of zeros with the WTO. Fourth, Brexit provides an opportunity for moral leadership. Classical free trade is a truly selfless policy. It’s a world apart from selfish protectionism or even self-interested trade negotiations. It could be our greatest export to the world.

Classical free trade is also an enlightened policy because at its heart lies the counter intuitive truth that by moving to trade at world prices, powerful positive economic forces are unleashed. This is the economic opportunity from Brexit.

The economic opportunity comes in two parts. First is the static effect, whereby lower import prices free up the spending power of consumers to purchase other goods and services. The full effect of tariff and non-tariff barriers imposed by the EU has been estimated to raise import prices 10pc to 20pc compared with world prices. This is a huge potential boost to the discretionary spending power of consumers.

Second is the dynamic effect. This is the spur of greater competition on UK producers, which raises productivity and makes both producers and consumers better off in the long run.

Then there is the entrepreneurial opportunity. Brexit provides the opportunity to systematically take down the regulatory state and its impact on product and labour markets. It’s an opportunity to implement common sense regulation alongside common sense values. However the entrepreneurial opportunity should not end there. The Government should seize the moment and announce a breathtaking shift in tax policy to boost the UK’s competitiveness. The obvious example would be to say corporation tax would be reduced to 10pc by 2025.

There’s also the opportunity to use classical free trade to boost the City. The biggest advocate of free trade would be home to the biggest financial centre. Talk about great branding and alignment in a 21st century networked world. This is an opportunity that would grow and grow as the EU pursued its desire for a financial transaction tax.

Finally, post Brexit the UK could get its geopolitical relationships with the EU and the rest of the world right. The analogy here for the EU is that we all have great friends, but if we married them that relationship could end in divorce. One can get too close with certain friends and that undermines instead of strengthens the relationship. With regard to the rest of the world, opportunities for free trade agreements abound, but there is also the opportunity to develop deeper trading relationships with the Anglosphere – the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. These economies already account for 33pc of global GDP with the UK.

The fall in the price of food as a result of the abolition of the Corn Laws unleashed a tremendous rise in production from factories aided by the new rail economy. This can be surpassed in the 21st century by free trade and the new network economy. In the words of the Foreign Secretary, we need to “let the lion roar”.

Graeme Leach is founder and chief economist of consultancy Macronomics